"NAMES"

I hate “Harry”. I hate all “Harry”s’. He stole my g/f. Not that I had a chance. My nice guy attitude and geeky face were no match against his 6 ft height and dashing looks.  But the point is that – I hate “Harry” and I hate all “Harry”s’.
Whenever I come across a “Harry”, my first feeling is one of hatred. I feel like taking my revenge on that very guy, enacting all my well thought out assassination tactics on him. No matter how affable the gut is. He might be the biggest philanthropist on this planet or the next nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize (p.s. you actually don’t need to promote peace to win this prize nowadays!!! :D ). But I simply do not care. That name is my enemy. I relate it to only one person – that person who messed up my life.
There isn’t always a hate relationship with a name. You can love a name – because its too uncommon or because your best friend has that name – “Ranaq” , “Gairik”. And you do love this name till some one with the same name jacks you someday!! :D
However some names are really too common to stay angry on – “Saptarshi” , “Anirban” , “Pooja” “Kaustav” , etc etc. The feelings are mixed. You know so many people by this name. You do not understand whether you should hate this name or love it. So you basically stay neutral.
Girls also have the name “Neil” albeit spelled differently – “Neel”. So if you know a “Neel” who is a girl, then it might bring giggly thoughts to your mind when you meet me (which shall be dispersed immediately). 
I called up GD (as I usually do whenever I find something interesting) the other day to tell him that I was going through the supplementary list in my college when I saw this name – Newton Basu who had a supple in an exam. Well I shudnt be laughing at his misfortune, but it was extremely funny!!! :D His parents must have named him with high hopes (and probably he shall become something someday) but you gotta chuckle at his result!!! It wouldn’t have mattered probably if his name would have been ..say.. Haripada Basu. By the way, people in India are very religious and names given to you by family “Gurus” are never mocked, even if they be the most hilarious names.
I often have this habit of asking people the meaning of their names. And then look at the person if they do resemble that. Obviously they don’t!!!! Half the guys with “SHU” in their names have nothing good about them!! :P I feel people shouldn’t be named by their parents. They should name themselves when they come of age. It helps one gauge the person better. For example, in some countries people choose their number plates befitting their attitude. So if you are behind someone whose number plate reads “ASSHOLE” you know very well what you gotta do!!! :D
A name has as much significance as the face of the individual. You can’t sleep with the twin sister of your ex g/f (courtesy FRIENDS), just like you can’t have two g/f s orb/f s with the same name. I don’t think the mind permits it. Exceptions are there- you’re trying to “make up” for your past failure or wanna get back at your ex!!! :P
How can I write so much about “Names” without saying something about my own name!!! I am very proud of my name (as is everyone else except probably this guy who prefers the name “Rekhyt Kahn” to his own name”)!!! :P
I feel immensely proud of my name – sharing my first name with Neil Armstrong!!! And also regarding the possible uniqueness of my name!!! (which was destroyed later by Google ) I am even more fiercely protective about the spelling of my first name – which people always mess up. I am actually named after the colour with a westernized spelling. I am not blue in colour, I do not star in porn movies, and I’m not really a sad guy.( But if I were to choose a name, I would still choose the same name – Neil.. which actually means a Celtic Champion!!! )
(p.s. Once I even tried to find a g/f by the name of “Nilima” coz my Bengali teacher once taught in class that that’s the “change of tense” of my name!!! :D)